Troop 349 – Falls Church, VA

 

A fun and happy crew that kicked it into gear and became a fine sailing crew very quickly! Because of several circumstances this was a smaller crew than we usually have on board. But they made a BIG impression. In no time at all these 7 Scouts were running the ship! They didn’t need any prompting by their leaders. They knew what was expected of them and they did the job! They were so impressive and such a joy to be around. This will be one of those weeks we will always remember. And we can only hope we will sail together again! The Captain and Admiral thank the crew from Troop 349!

 

A very happy crew and we are thrilled to have them on board!

 

You think she is happy to be in the Bahamas???

 

Time to snorkel

 

Gooooooooooooo

 

GO!

 

And they are off to explore what is under the ocean

 

Monday morning they had the whole island of Pelican cay all to themselves to explore!

 

What a cool spot

 

Hey – What’s up??

 

On the Sandy Cay Reef dive we saw 4 turtles

 

There one goes….

 

That is Sam

 

They became good at diving down pretty deep

 

A beautiful black grouper

 

A BIG sting ray just sitting still on the bottom

 

 

Good friends having a great time together

 

Is Melissa (aka Sandy) taking a nap?

 

Jump Noah

 

They had a blast jumping off the bow sprit again, and again, and again, and again…

 

Thanks to Dave and Noah we heard some good guitar strumming

 

Thank you Galley Crew – you left my galley spotless!

 

A knot typing lesson. You must know your clove hitch!

 

Melissa got it!

 

What is the Captain telling them now?

 

The two brothers hoisting the spannker throat halyard

 

Sam is hoisting the spannker peak halyard. Great job!

 

Jason is on the spannker sheet

 

Sweat it!!

 

YEAH !

 

Now it is time to coil and secure your halyard line

 

Joshua and Timothy stand by ready to hoist the mainsail peak halyard

 

Dave and Marcus hoisting the mainsail throat halyard. Tough Team!

 

Great job hoisting the peak halyard

 

Sweat it!

 

Andy on the mainsail sheet. Done to perfection

 

Good coil Joshua

 

Melissa, or is it Sandy?, did a superb job on the staysail sheet

 

Spannker Crew backwind to starboard!

 

Staysail ready to be hoisted

 

The best job at coiling and securing your halyard – Timothy!

 

Pulling in on the starboard jib sheet

 

Spannker Crew – don’t mess with them!

 

Mainsail Crew + Dave (where are you Dave?) – they cranked it out every time!

 

Sam at the helm with Ciganka under full sail

 

Mom with two of her son’s out sailing in the Bahamas. It doesn’t get much better than that!

 

But we do miss you Dad!

 

Ciganka loves this!

 

father and son hanging out at the helm. Miss you Mom!

 

Captain Thomas enjoying this sail too

 

What a ride ~

 

Oh yeah – this IS fun!

 

Noah is fishing but we want him catching!

 

Marcus has learned to tie the “special” clove hitch for the ladder. Proud of you!

 

They are just silly….

 

Lookin good Crew!

 

Off they go to climb the Hope Town lighthouse and visit the settlement. Have fun!

 

Hanging out with Dad this week was a blast!

 

What are they doing now?

 

They found their own naturally made hot tube!

 

They found their own naturally made hot tube!

 

What are you looking at?

 

Seriously – what is it?

 

Looks like Jason could get use to this

 

Thanks Sam – it was great having you on board Ciganka!

 

 

Somebody found a friend

 

 

Thanks Dave to all your contributions and laughs all week long!

 

 

Time to clean the conch Dave found

 

That is the conch meat and Dave’s shell

 

Doing the drift dive at the Tilloo Cut

 

 

Fire coral – Do NOT touch!

 

There goes Melissa

 

 

Big purple fans all over the place

 

 

 

Holden lighting the birthday candles for his big 17 year old brother! And proud mamma watches on.

 

Almost have all the candles lit

 

Happy Birthday to YOU Noah!

 

Our last dive of this trip on Fowle Cay Reef. It was another gorgeous snorkel.

 

Off go Andy and Jason with bread in hand to feed the fish

 

Holden and Marcus did a fantastic job being Lifeline and Ladder Crew. We teased them when they had to move the ladder it was like wrestling an alligator!

 

We can onlu hope that Andy and his son Timothy will come and sail with us again!

 

Dave did a super job as “Point Man”! And he loved his “perch”!

 

Noah wore several hats this week besides his birthday hat – He showed excellent leadership as “Crew Chief” and had some big responsibilities as “Squirrel Man”. You did yourself proud!

 

This one is for Mom

 

Cool Kid Holden

 

By the end of the week these Scouts ran the ship by themselves. It was so impressive to witness!

 

Troop 349 – Great Leaders and GREAT Scouts

 

Happy easy going Melissa – Thanks!

 

What an absolute pleasure Andy!

 

Scout Master Jason – it doesn’t get much better – Thank YOU!

 

Troop 349 with the Captain & Admiral

 

Congratulations to Joshua our “Conch Award of Excellence” recipient. Well deserved – we are very proud of you!

 

Troop 349 – Falls Church, VA